‘Tis the Season for Learning Through Literacy at Home
As educators anticipate the opportunity to rest and recharge over the holiday break, they are also mindful of the potential for an academic “slide” that can accompany an extended pause, which can be troubling because they’ve just re-established momentum post-summer.
However, the holiday season, with its focus on quality family time, can also allow caregivers to take more active roles in their children’s literacy. A report prepared by consulting firm Deloitte for the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, “An Economic Overview of Children’s Literacy in Canada,” found that an estimated one million Canadian children under the age of 15 have below grade-level literacy skills.
Modeling the importance of reading at home can be a powerful way to build confidence and instill a lifelong affinity for literacy. As the holiday season approaches, here are some ways you can help your school community harness family time to boost literacy skills.
Five Ways to Spark Reading Routines
1. Offer suggestions for weaving reading into everyday activities.
The key to building literacy skills at home is maintaining an atmosphere of joy around reading and showing how it’s an integral part of daily life.
Many holiday activities naturally lend themselves to incorporating elements of reading without it feeling like homework. Here are some ideas:
- Take turns reading aloud during meal preparation or while drinking hot cocoa.
- Create a cozy reading nook with holiday pillows and blankets.
- Read recipes while baking or cooking family favourites together.
- Help kids conduct research online and then write their own wish lists to read aloud.
- Read and follow directions for festive holiday crafts or homemade gifts.
- Invite neighbours over for a holiday read-aloud.
2. Recommend making books part of their holiday rituals.
Help them consider new ways to make books part of winter celebrations. They might include reading materials in their gift-giving tradition or start a holiday library, introducing a new classic to enjoy together each year.
You could even share a simplified gift structure many families have adopted to help minimize consumption known as “The Four Gift Rule”:
- Something they want
- Something they need
- Something to wear
- Something to read
Be sure to note ways they can personalise the concept of “something to read,” too. While a novel might be the obvious choice, this can be adapted to various age ranges to include whatever fuels the child’s interest—from graphic novels to a subscription to an audio book service.
3. Coordinate take-home literacy kits.
Help bridge the gap between school and home with a take-home kit that can enhance academic performance and strengthen family connections through shared educational experiences.
As part of your classroom festivities, you could host a book exchange (pointing families to resources such as the Dollar Tree or thrift stores to keep costs down) and send each child home with a new book they can share with their family. Or you could host a special session where students have the chance to choose books from the classroom or school library to enjoy over the break.
Add in holiday-themed activity pages with word games, such as scrambles, word searches, or crossword puzzles. Include a reading log where students can track their progress, offering an extra recess or other small reward for completed logs when they return in January.
You can also point caregivers to available resources, such as your school’s online library, as well as curated sites or apps that offer quality activities. Supplying a variety of resources that cater to different interests and learning styles can assure them it’s perfectly acceptable to leverage technology as part of their reading rituals.
4. Encourage read-aloud practice.
Because some children can feel self-conscious when reading to another person, reading to pets can be a welcome opportunity to practice their skills in a comfortable setting. Look into a formal program like Ottawa’s Reading Education Assistance Dogs® or Halifax’ Paws to Read® or encourage them to read to their own pet or even a stuffed friend.
5. Provide tips for caregivers to make reading accessible.
Remind them that they are their children’s first and best teachers. The more they model reading themselves—whether it’s a magazine or a downloaded book—the more likely students are to embrace the joy of reading and consider it a pleasurable activity that’s just a natural part of daily routines.
Literacy Begins at Home
As you prepare your students for holiday break, now is the time to initiate communication with families, encouraging them to actively support their children’s education and offering easy ways to assume the role of literacy leader.
Inspire them to recognize how small, consistent efforts to incorporate reading into family time can have lasting effects on their children's interests and skills.
Empowering parents and caregivers with strategies to incorporate literacy activities into their daily routines helps create a seamless learning experience that extends beyond the classroom walls—ideally improving academic performance, strengthening family bonds, and nurturing a lifelong love for learning.
To learn more, check out our reading tools today.